I decided to weld on my new muffler. It was not very easy finding information on stainless steel (gasless) fluxcore MIG wire. I finally found a source with some reasonable options for this small project.
http://www.use-enco.com/1/1/44828-308lfco-035-01-welders-choice-stainless-steel-gasless-mig-welding-wire.html
These folks did a nice job; delivery was prompt and hassle free. The selection and cost seemed reasonable for such a small quantity of wire.
I am pretty new to welding and am self-taught so this was an interesting project overall. My impression is that the wire could work pretty well with the right setup. I didn't really have a good way to dial in the best settings and I think my stab at the setup was a bit on the low side. I ran settings which were about the same as for plain fluxcore wire of the same size. I was trying to be somewhat careful because I had to run an extension cord to the welder and I was only running off 110v since I have yet to install a 220v outlet.
For prep, I did run a wire wheel and grinder over the area on the old exhaust where I would be joining the pieces. I cleaned the new exhaust and some of the connector pieces with some acetone to get rid of the oil/grease/etc residue. Left plenty of time for the vapors to clear.
For the actual welding, I ended up laying down a very thick bead and it may have been a bit on the cold side (as a followup, this was true on another stainless project I tried - I think installing the 220v outlet would be wise if doing much of this). It was hard to tell how much was wire/setup versus lack of skill since I did most of this laying under the truck which probably isn't the best thing to do as a new welder. I have a lot more respect for folks who do this kind of work - regardless of their skill level. It certainly was taxing physically and mentally in the heat with the safety gear.
Note: I did put a welding blanket over the gas tank though - better safe than sorry. I also covered myself with it at times as well. The blanket was in addition to my welding jacket and leather smock. Be careful with the welding helmet on; peripheral vision is minimal and I head butted the rotor a good number of times.
Someday I hope to have a garage with a small vehicle lift; projects like this would be more enjoyable that way. It was still a good learning experience though.
Hope this inspires someone to try something new. Learn from the experience but be content even if the result isn't perfect.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Yamaha TTR 125 and Rekluse automatic clutch
Decided to get an automatic clutch for the dirt bike that the wife and I share. This was mainly to help my wife since she is having some hand strength issues which make use of the manual clutch difficult.
I had debated doing this for a few years but had not wanted to spend the money. The clutch is not cheap by any means and when you compare it to the cost of a TTR 125 it is hard to justify without some really good reasons.
After I finally decided to buy it, I found out that prices had increased quite a bit. After some internet searching, I ran across a site that must have had some older stock closer to the price I had remembered.
I received the kit fairly quickly and a quick view of the kit left me the impression that it is designed and machined quite well. The instructions are somewhat minimal but were clear enough most of the time to get by. A few extra details would be nice.
I finally started the install. The first challenge was getting the rear brake bracket off. The bolt uses a hex key and it was on unbelievingly tight. A few applications WD-40 and some other similar items combined with persistence finally paid off. I did end up using a shorter hex key since the one I started with felt like it was ready to snap.
The next challenge was removing the boss nut. With the bike in gear, I was unable to find a good way to prevent rear wheel movement (without damaging spokes). I ended up with rope around the circumference of the wheel and tied to some wood placed against the swingarm. This helped but I ended up using an impact wrench to get the nut off (in under a second). Later, I reversed the setup on the wheel to install the nut with a torque wrench - this was much more challenging.
The kit has you do a few things like grind down 4 bolt posts. Instead of using a file for the entire thing I used a dremel and cutoff bit to speed the process along. A file was needed to complete it though. The kit provided a piece to use as a guide for the process. This made it very easy to do without much fear of error.
The assembly of the main kit pieces was simple - just be careful with all the steel/carbide balls - would not be fun to chase around the garage or extract from the engine case. The instructions have you assemble the main kit with the balls somewhere NOT near the motorcycle which seems like great advice.
Got it all together and was able to go around the yard with no issues. Even had the wife go around the yard a few times. All was fine until I stopped and pulled in the manual clutch. It was like it wasn't connected at first. After that, when the bike was in gear it acted like the clutch was fully disengaged - no attempt at movement. Started disassembly to see what went wrong and looked good until I got to the throw out. The nut that the instructions had me move to the bottom of the thrust washer had loosened significantly. I ended up using a wrench to tighten the top/bottom nuts against the washer.
TODO - will add some more comments on reassembly and testing/trying it out once I am done with it.
First fully successful test ride complete! Works now! It was definitely worth the price to see my wife tooling around the yard with a bigger than normal grin (under the helmet). It made a huge difference for her since she didn't have to worry about stalling or starting off with a wheelie by mistake.
My only concern after my final round of assembly is that the shifter seems stiffer than I think it should. This may mean I just need to adjust the clutch at the handlebars a bit. Hoping that is the case and that I don't have to tear it apart again. I saw a blog entry somewhere where the person indicated that they had better results with 4 threads (instead of 5) showing on the throw out.
[2019/01/27] After appearing to be off the market for a while I've noticed that the auto-clutch is available for the Yamaha TTR-125 again - found at Revzilla web site.
I had debated doing this for a few years but had not wanted to spend the money. The clutch is not cheap by any means and when you compare it to the cost of a TTR 125 it is hard to justify without some really good reasons.
After I finally decided to buy it, I found out that prices had increased quite a bit. After some internet searching, I ran across a site that must have had some older stock closer to the price I had remembered.
I received the kit fairly quickly and a quick view of the kit left me the impression that it is designed and machined quite well. The instructions are somewhat minimal but were clear enough most of the time to get by. A few extra details would be nice.
I finally started the install. The first challenge was getting the rear brake bracket off. The bolt uses a hex key and it was on unbelievingly tight. A few applications WD-40 and some other similar items combined with persistence finally paid off. I did end up using a shorter hex key since the one I started with felt like it was ready to snap.
The next challenge was removing the boss nut. With the bike in gear, I was unable to find a good way to prevent rear wheel movement (without damaging spokes). I ended up with rope around the circumference of the wheel and tied to some wood placed against the swingarm. This helped but I ended up using an impact wrench to get the nut off (in under a second). Later, I reversed the setup on the wheel to install the nut with a torque wrench - this was much more challenging.
The kit has you do a few things like grind down 4 bolt posts. Instead of using a file for the entire thing I used a dremel and cutoff bit to speed the process along. A file was needed to complete it though. The kit provided a piece to use as a guide for the process. This made it very easy to do without much fear of error.
The assembly of the main kit pieces was simple - just be careful with all the steel/carbide balls - would not be fun to chase around the garage or extract from the engine case. The instructions have you assemble the main kit with the balls somewhere NOT near the motorcycle which seems like great advice.
Got it all together and was able to go around the yard with no issues. Even had the wife go around the yard a few times. All was fine until I stopped and pulled in the manual clutch. It was like it wasn't connected at first. After that, when the bike was in gear it acted like the clutch was fully disengaged - no attempt at movement. Started disassembly to see what went wrong and looked good until I got to the throw out. The nut that the instructions had me move to the bottom of the thrust washer had loosened significantly. I ended up using a wrench to tighten the top/bottom nuts against the washer.
TODO - will add some more comments on reassembly and testing/trying it out once I am done with it.
First fully successful test ride complete! Works now! It was definitely worth the price to see my wife tooling around the yard with a bigger than normal grin (under the helmet). It made a huge difference for her since she didn't have to worry about stalling or starting off with a wheelie by mistake.
My only concern after my final round of assembly is that the shifter seems stiffer than I think it should. This may mean I just need to adjust the clutch at the handlebars a bit. Hoping that is the case and that I don't have to tear it apart again. I saw a blog entry somewhere where the person indicated that they had better results with 4 threads (instead of 5) showing on the throw out.
[2019/01/27] After appearing to be off the market for a while I've noticed that the auto-clutch is available for the Yamaha TTR-125 again - found at Revzilla web site.
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